0:00
Have you ever found yourself keeping a female guppy without a male, only to find that female
0:05
goes on to produce babies? In this video I am going to answer the question, can female
0:10
guppies have babies without a male? Hello friends, welcome back to the channel
0:14
If you're new here, my name is Richard and I'm the owner of the fishkeepinganswers.com website
0:19
where I have around 300 articles all about keeping guppies, shrimp and other freshwater inhabitants
0:24
Guppies are famed for their ability to reproduce. For many fish keepers a guppy is the first fish
0:31
they breed and for many, myself included, that first breeding will go on to create a lifelong
0:37
passion for fish keeping and breeding. For many years now the internet has been awash with stories
0:43
of how female guppies have managed to produce babies without a male being present
0:49
Whilst on the face of it this may seem to be what's happening, how is it possible to place
0:53
a single female guppy into an aquarium with no other fish and she still manages to produce
0:58
babies. Behind this miracle there may be some science to explain what is going on
1:04
Guppies are very prolific breeders. When kept together in an aquarium with other guppies
1:10
females can actually become pregnant and have babies as young as 2 or 3 months old
1:15
This means that if a female has been raised with other guppies for the first 8 to 12 weeks
1:20
of her life, there is a good chance she will be pregnant. Now another slight quirk of nature that guppies take advantage of is the ability to store sperm
1:30
Guppies are live bearers The females develop the baby guppies inside their bodies and release them as live free swimming babies The female guppy has the ability to store sperm from the males inside her body for several months By storing the sperm the female guppy is able to
1:49
delay the production of babies if conditions are less than favorable. But the female's reproductive
1:55
talents do not end there. Not only can the female store sperm in her body, she also has the ability
2:01
to use that sperm to produce multiple batches of babies over the following months
2:06
Scientists have shown female guppies can produce 3 to 6 batches of fry without remating with
2:11
the male. It is generally accepted that this evolutionary adaptation helps ensure guppies in the world
2:18
can continue to reproduce even when males and females are not in close proximity
2:25
Bearing all this information in mind it is now easy to see how someone might have a single
2:29
female guppy living without a male that then goes on to produce one or more batches of babies
2:36
In theory, providing that female has had at least one encounter with a male guppy after
2:41
the age of two to three months, it's perfectly possible she can go on to produce fry for
2:45
several months. It is for this very reason when guppy breeders are trying to produce a particular colour strain
2:53
They need to ensure that males and females are separated as early in life as possible
2:59
Another question I'm frequently asked is why are my guppies gasping at the top of the aquarium
3:04
I'll answer that question in the video linked on screen. Thanks for watching
